well, she’d grown into the loveliest creature he’d ever seen. He admitted that when he’d first met Daphne, she’d seemed to be as pesky as his own little sisters. Nadine didn’t seem to care for Daphne, and Thomas wasn’t sure why. Nadine didn’t want him spending all his time with Daphne Severt, Harry’s younger sister who had accompanied Harry on several visits to Nadine’s home. He’d received these instructions at least half a dozen times already-and he knew the reason. ![]() Be certain to avoid any semblance of preferential treatment. Be certain to speak to each person in attendance-preferential treatment to one guest is considered impolite. You may now leave the welcoming post and mingle. I believe the last of the guests have arrived. Nadine caught Thomas’s elbow and gave it a little squeeze. His posture and gestures conveyed a state of complete self-assurance. Right now, beside the punch bowl on the opposite side of the room, Harry conversed with two young ladies. He wished he could set the odd feeling aside, relax, and be as at ease as his friend Harry Severt seemed to be. Even now, after six years of living beneath her tiled roof, he sometimes still experienced a sense of displacement. His entire childhood home had less space than the parlor of Nadine’s ridiculously large residence. Her three-story townhouse on prestigious Beacon Street, overlooking the Common, was so different from his simple clapboard home in Gaeddert, Kansas. But none looked as uncomfortable as Thomas had felt during his first weeks in Nadine’s home. Many had entered the ornately carved oak doors as first-time visitors. He just wished she hadn’t chosen a party as a way of expressing her pleasure in his accomplishment.ĭozens of guests milled through the parlor of the stately Stead-man home-students, professors, church members, and neighbors. Her willingness to take him in six years ago as he began high school, pay for his college education, and treat him as her own-even though he was only the stepson of her daughter-in-law rather than any blood kin-proved her generosity. Nadine’s approach was often crusty, but Thomas had learned she harbored a tender heart. Thomas, you are a scamp.Īlthough the words could be construed as an insult, by her tone he knew he’d been forgiven. She laughed softly and patted his arm with her gloved hand. I’ve been smiling so much, my muscles are stiff. Leaning sideways to bring his head next to hers, he translated, My face feels as if it’s turned to stone. Her dark eyes dared him to leave her wondering what he’d said. ![]() Thomas Ollenburger, you know I don’t understand a word of that foreign speech. Some devilishness made him whisper, " Ach fal me no ows mein yasacht dowt no shtien." He’d won that debate, but Nadine had insisted on throwing a celebratory party in honor of his educational achievement. Nadine and he had argued when he’d stated he would rather avoid the fanfare and not attend the graduation ceremony at Boston Tech. Sure, he admitted feeling a sense of accomplishment in earning a college degree-something unique to his Mennonite upbringing- but the teachings of his sect discouraged self-pride. ![]() ![]() He looked at her.Īlthough Nadine Steadman wore a smile, her eyes flashed disapproval. He stopped fiddling with the ribbon tie beneath his chin and lowered his arm to his side, but she jabbed him again, this time catching his forearm instead. Sawyer is the Karen Kingsbury of Mennonite/Amish fiction!!!! Read moreĪ SHARP ELBOW JABBED Thomas Ollenburger’s ribs, his foster grandmother’s all-too-familiar signal that he was doing something wrong. Can Thomas set aside that one fact, and fall for her anyhow, or will his friendship from home with a woman who shares his beliefs be more?Find out in a novel that will make you smile, and possibly cry.it did me!!! Many high praises have been written about this book and I have to agree with all of them!! This faith inspiring book is a super great read! Ms. The problem is, this beautiful city girl isn't allowed to know God. He doesn't want to hurt her, but while in the big city, he meets someone who quickly catches his heart and it quickly tests his faith and his background, leaving him torn between staying in Boston or returning to his Mennonite family back home in Kansas. He leaves behind his parents, his friends, and a young woman he's befriended. Sawyer's book had me quickly captured til the end!!! Young Thomas Ollenberger fancies himself to be a journalist, so, with his parents' blessings, he sets off to the city of Boston where his stepmother's family lives to attend school. Written in that same magnificent way as the first, Ms. A sequel to Waiting for Summer's Return, Where the Heart Leads gives us a look into the Ollenberger's lives once again.
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